"Have the red blotches gone down?"
"I'm afraid not," Ana answered.
"That leaves us no choice than to move on to the live healing."
"Let's wait a little longer."
"You know very well that, if we don't take action soon, we run the risk of losing him forever."
Ana nodded and stood up.
"Bring the crystal globe," Father Matthias, stroking her hair reassuringly.
Not wasting a moment, he opened the black knapsack and removed some dried herbs, fresh roots, a few small jars that contained various mixtures and essential oils, and a set of notes.
"Here you are," said Ana.
After leaving the globe beside him, she headed to the refrigerator and dumped all the ice cubes in a bowl.
"Thanks," said Father Matthias with a forced smile.
He mixed a portion of what he had taken from the knapsack with the ice, and soaked his hands with an oil that smelled like rotten chestnuts.
"Now you can go ahead and clean him," he told Ana.
She rinsed off what remained of the poultice with a damp cloth, dried the reddened areas that stood out in stark contrast to the cardboard-white color of his skin, and sprinkled a fine powder that resembled cinnamon around them.
"Place the globe on his spinal column in the exact spot I marked for you."
Ana followed his instructions to the letter, placing the globe in the proper place and removing the wrapping that covered it.
"Ready!"
*
Outside...
Thomas appeared from among the trees like a ghost born from the void. He lit a cigarette, puffed greedily on it and exhaled the smoke through his nose.
"What a bastard!" he said, smiling.
Once he finished the cigarette, he decided to light another one. He liked the halo of colors that was dancing in the window where his prey was working, unaware of his presence. Thomas could see it all through the glass that acted much like a watery filter, and the visual spectacle was striking enough that he preferred to risk giving them a little more time in order to fully enjoy the light show.
Even the rain made everything look all the more unbelievable. The flashes of colors—green, yellow, blue, red—extended outward like silk ribbons that divided themselves into particles of dust that faded away in three dimensions. That was the effect water had on the invisible, watering with drops of life the supernatural world that surrounds us and revealing its very existence.
"Time's up," said Thomas, tossing the cigarette butt on the ground.
*
"Press down hard," Father Matthias instructed.
"Wouldn't it be better to attach it with adhesive tape?"
"Not this time, no. I'd rather be able to take the globe away quickly if something goes wrong than to burn the spinal column.
Ana closed her eyes, clutched the globe and pushed down on it, using the weight of her body to increase the pressure.
"We're starting now," Father Matthias advised Ana.
He applied a small amount of the mixture to the reddened areas first. Then very carefully, as if he was conducting an ancient ritual, he whispered prayers to focus himself and put pressure on the frozen paste. He picked a knife and scraped away the excess mixture, attempting to only cover the red area and leave the skin uncovered.
"Ooofffff!" he grunted.
Once he was done, he poured the rest of the ice out around the crystal globe.
"The heat seeks out the cold and the cold absorbs the heat," he said, closing his eyes.
The globe began to warm up. Ana refrained from crying out in pain and pressed down with all her strength, absorbing constant shocks that vibrated and rocked her body back and forth.
"Hold on!" shouted Father Matthias.
The pale skin of the body was mixed with a bluish river that branched off into thousands of thin lines and spread outward from the center of the globe in all directions. The skin was undulating, as if it was reflecting a stream of luminous water flowing inside it. The red blotches released an almost imperceptible vapor, Carlos' hair curled and shined, his eyelids trembled, his neck tensed up and his limbs moved spastically.
"I'm burning up!" Ana cried.
"Don't let go. You have to hang on for just a more few seconds."
"Aggghhhh!" she sobbed.
Thomas kicked down the door and entered the room.
"You!" exclaimed a shocked Father Matthias.
"Did I catch you at a bad time?" Thomas asked sarcastically. "Now you see what happens when you play with the forbidden. By the way, who's your little friend there?"
Without waiting for an answer, he grabbed Matthias by the shoulders and threw him against the wall.
"I should have killed you in that stinking sewer like I planned from the beginning."
He stomped the priest's face into the floor and looked at Ana.
"When I finish with him, I'll start in on you."
Terrified, she watched him but didn't let go of the globe.
"Leave everything and get out of here!" cried Father Matthias.
"I can't leave you to die," she said.
Thomas lifted his prey and his hands tightened around the priest's neck.
"Some people want to live and others to die. What you two don't understand is that none of that matters."
Father Matthias was in agony now and fighting for his life.
"Listen to me, little girl. I'm offering you a deal. If you let the dead guy rest in peace, I'll let go of the priest's neck. How's that sound to you? In the end, it's not for wise men to play at being God. Or do you believe you have divine powers?"
Ana was crying inconsolably, trying to hold up under the pain, scared out of her wits and without a clue of what to do.
"A dead man for a live one, that's a fair trade, don't you think?"
Taking advantage of the distraction, and with a little bit of luck, Father Matthias managed to drive his knee into Thomas' crotch. When he got his breath back, he threw himself backwards and gave Thomas a powerful head butt. Unfortunately, it didn't produce the desired result.
"Aagghhhhh!" the father groaned, rubbing his head.
"You idiot," Thomas said, wiping the blood from his nose.
One powerful punch in the stomach and another in the ribs dropped Father Matthias to the floor. A kick to the thigh and two in the face made his head spin. He nearly lost consciousness.
"Don't go to sleep on me now, you old bastard. I admit you have more guts than I gave you credit for."
He turned around, spit out some saliva mixed with blood and looked at Ana.
"Now it's your turn."